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Favorite Web Sites: Online Dictionaries
The web sites featured this month have been critically evaluated and selected
by the IU Northwest librarians as well as a group of academic and public librarians
across the United States who compile a yearly Best
Free Reference Web Sites List for the American
Library Association. Here is a list of selection
criteria initially created by the MARS Best Free Websites Task Force
to choose these sites. The Library hopes our readers will find these web
sites useful for locating reliable, accurate and authoritative information
on the Internet.
Wordsmyth meshes the functions of a dictionary and a thesaurus with powerful
and flexible search capabilities. This database is designed to work the way people
think. A spell-like button makes it easy to look up words even if you aren't
sure how they are spelled. The simple search mode offers quick and easy lookups,
while the advanced mode allows the user to specify which fields will be displayed
in the results. An interactive result page is returned including lists of synonyms
for which definitions are just a click away. Example sentences and phrases and
indicators of context and grammar are included. This excellent dictionary-thesaurus
tool will allow those who utilize it to express their ideas more concisely. (Summary
used with permission of the MARS Best Free Websites Committee)
"yourDictionary.com provides the most comprehensive and authoritative portal
for language [and] language-related products and services on the web with more
than 1800 dictionaries with more than 250 languages." An Advisory Council of
Experts provides "guidance in the development, acquisition, and maintenance of
the dictionaries." The Endangered Language Repository section has been created
to highlight world efforts to preserve many languages and dialects that are threatened
with extinction. This site aims to "provide ways of building vocabularies, studying
grammar, practicing spoken and written languages," "provide scientific information
about language as well as various forms of language play designed to build language
skills," and meet any linguistic need. Although the home page is a little crowded,
it is generally easy to use and navigate. There is a "Quick Look-up" conveniently
placed at the top for searching a word either in the Merriam-Webster Collegiate
Dictionary or Thesaurus. yourDictionary.com with its easy-to-remember URL, should
become a favorite. (Summary used with permission of the MARS Best Free Websites
Committee)
OneLook allows for easy, quick word searches in over 600 on-line dictionaries,
including general, legal and foreign dictionaries. The user can search a word
in all of the dictionaries, but a warning indicates that this type of search
will take longer. Options are to search for English definitions only or to choose
French, Spanish, Italian or German. The dictionaries range from something as
well known as Merriam-Webster's WWWebster Dictionary to specialized resources
like The Cadillac Performance Dictionary,. The search results also contain links
to the home page of the indexed dictionaries themselves if the user wants to
further explore a particular resource. This site does indeed provide a great
network of dictionary resources with "one look." (Summary used with permission
of the MARS Best Free Websites Committee)
Hoover's Online Corporate Database Added to ABI/Inform
Since December 2001, ProQuest(r) incorporated the Hoover's
Online corporate database into the IU Northwest Library's ABI/Inform subscription. Hoover's
Online is widely recognized as a leading provider of comprehensive and
up-to-date corporate information. Users have access to detailed information on
over 15,000 companies by simply clicking on the specific company link either
in the abstract or the ABI/Inform full-text article. The Hoover's
Online database via IntelliDocs(TM) technology offers such information
as the company capsule and profile, financials, competitors, key numbers and
people as well as subsidiaries.
To access ABI/Inform from IU Northwest campus computers ONLY,
go to the IU
Northwest Library's Electronic
Information Page and select the Humanities and Social Sciences link
under the Journal and Newspaper Indexes heading. At the next screen,
click ABI/Inform.
, Library News Web Editor |
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